Frequently Asked Questions

Water Pressure

A common cause of low pressure is debris in faucet aerators. Customers that begin experiencing low water pressure in their residence may easily find out where a problem may be by opening an outside spigot â€“ if there is good pressure and flow then the problem will be somewhere within your plumbing system. You may need to get a plumber to see what can be done. If you rent your landlord may be needed to get involved. Also check with your neighbors to see if they are having a similar problem. Of course call MWAâ€™s Customer Service if you think the problem is with our water system.

Average annual demand is 25 million gallons per day; in the summer peak days can typically be 35 million gallons. Donâ€™t worry about running out of water â€“ the Amerson WTP can produce up to 60 million gallons per day from the nearly 5.9 billion gallon Lucas Lake Reservoir.

1. MWAâ€™s water system provides safe water for drinking and hygiene to protect human health; maintaining enough pressure helps ensure contaminants canâ€™t enter into over the 1,400 miles of the water system that is stretched throughout most of Bibb Countyâ€™s 255 square miles.
2. The other important purpose of the water system is to make sure life and property is protected from fires. The same pipes that deliver water to your home also protect it from fire and the MWA water system has over 8,000 fire hydrants for this. Fighting fires, unlike water use in your home, requires thousands of gallons of water delivered at a momentâ€™s notice with enough pressure over a number of hours.

Why not?
Factors such as contour of the land will affect water system pressure (the higher you are, the lower the pressure). The highest point in Bibb County is 610 feet above sea level and the lowest is about 260 feet.

We â€œbalanceâ€ the water system by having it separated into 6 different zones so that there is adequate pressure in each. There are also water storage tanks and 7 booster pumping stations throughout our system to make sure enough volume and pressure is always available; these are constantly monitored 24 hours a day and have nearly 37 million gallons of capacity. The Amerson Water Treatment Plant has also different sized pumps it can use to best match the total needs of the water system.

A common way customers reduce water pressure in their private residences is by having a pressure reducing valve installed. Local hardware and home improvement stores sell these and can be of assistance. WATTS is a manufacturer of these types of valves and they have a helpful website: http://www.watts.com/pages/learnAbout/reducingValves.asp?catId=64
These valves are always installed after the MWA water meter and on the plumbing system that you own. You may be able to install it yourself but 1) you should get a plumber to do this if you are at all unsure or lack the proper skills and 2) make sure you comply with the local plumbing code.

All plumbing work in these types of buildings needs to meet the requirements of the plumbing code. Macon-Bibbâ€™s Business Development Services is responsible for this: http://www.maconbibb.us/business-development-services/